Khatabook vs Swipe

Updated November 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

Khatabook

Digital credit ledger app for small Indian shops to track customer dues and payments.

Free plan + paid

Visit Khatabook Khatabook profile

Swipe

GST billing, invoicing and inventory app for small Indian businesses, on phone and web.

Free plan + paid

Visit Swipe Swipe profile

The short answer

Khatabook suits Indian shopkeepers who mainly want a free phone ledger for customer credit and payment reminders. Swipe suits Indian SMEs that need GST-compliant invoices, e-way bills, stock tracking and reports from a phone or browser. The biggest difference is purpose: Khatabook replaces the paper credit book, while Swipe is a billing and inventory app. Neither is full double-entry accounting.

Khatabook or Swipe: our take

Khatabook digitises the khata, the credit book many Indian shops keep for customers who pay later. Shopkeepers add customers and suppliers, record dues and payments, and the app keeps running balances and sends reminders over SMS or WhatsApp. It is quick to learn, works in 12 Indian languages and has 5 crore+ downloads, mostly among kirana stores and small merchants. The core ledger is free, with paid premium features on top. It is built around Android and does not produce GST invoices or track stock.

Swipe starts from billing. It creates GST-compliant invoices, quotations, purchase orders and estimates, shares them over WhatsApp, email or SMS, and sends automatic reminders for unpaid bills. It also tracks stock, records payments and expenses, and produces sales, purchase, ledger and profit-and-loss reports. India-specific tools include e-way bills from the phone, e-invoices, GSTR JSON exports and a Tally sync, and bills print on A4 or on 2-inch and 3-inch thermal printers for counter billing. Swipe runs on Android, iOS and the web, supports several users and businesses on one account, and offers free basic invoicing with paid plans for advanced GST and inventory features.

Both focus on the Indian market and neither replaces an accountant's software or double-entry books. For a small shop whose main headache is tracking who owes what, Khatabook is simpler and free at its core. Once a business needs proper GST invoices, e-way bills, stock control or counter billing, Swipe covers far more, and many shops that start with a ledger app move to or add a billing app like it.

Choose Khatabook if…

Indian shopkeepers who want a simple phone ledger for customer credit and payment reminders
Free core ledger that is quick to learn
Works in 12 Indian languages

Choose Swipe if…

Indian SMEs that want quick GST invoices, e-way bills and stock tracking from a phone
You need Web and iOS, which Khatabook doesn't list
E-way bills, e-invoices and GST reports built in
Invoices shared straight to WhatsApp, email or SMS

What is Khatabook?

Khatabook replaces the paper khata, the credit book many Indian shopkeepers keep for customers who pay later. You add customers and suppliers, record what they owe or have paid, and the app keeps running balances and can send payment reminders over SMS or WhatsApp. It started as an Android app from a Bengaluru startup and grew quickly among kirana stores and other small merchants, and it works in a dozen Indian languages. The core ledger is free, with paid premium features on top. It is built for micro and small businesses in India rather than for full double-entry accounting, so it does not replace a GST accounting package or an accountant's software. Shops that need proper GST invoices or stock tracking usually pair it with, or move to, a billing app.

What is Swipe?

Swipe is an invoicing and billing app built mainly for small and medium businesses in India. It creates GST-compliant invoices, quotations, purchase orders and estimates in a few seconds and shares them over WhatsApp, email or SMS, with automatic reminders for unpaid bills. Beyond invoicing it tracks stock in and out, records payments and expenses, and produces sales, purchase, ledger and profit-and-loss reports. India-specific features include e-way bills, e-invoices, GSTR JSON exports and a sync with Tally, and bills can be printed on A4 or on 2- and 3-inch thermal printers for counter billing. It runs as a mobile app and in the browser, and supports several users and businesses on one account. Basic invoicing can be started free, with paid plans unlocking the advanced GST and inventory features. It suits shops, distributors and freelancers who want quick billing rather than a full accounting package.

Side by side

Attribute	Khatabook	Swipe
Pricing	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	Android	Web, Android, iOS
Best for	Indian shopkeepers who want a simple phone ledger for customer credit and payment reminders	Indian SMEs that want quick GST invoices, e-way bills and stock tracking from a phone
Status	Active	Active